As a headache specialist, one of the most common complaints I hear in my clinic is: “Whenever I have indigestion, I always get a headache.”
Patients experience a sense of abdominal discomfort and nausea followed by a headache, so naturally they assume that a ‘gastrointestinal problem’ is causing the headache. As a result, they undergo endoscopy, visit gastroenterology clinics to take digestive medications, or seek herbal remedies from Oriental medicine practitioners to relieve indigestion. However, this chronic cycle of ‘indigestion plus headache’ rarely breaks.
To get straight to the point: “It is not that indigestion causes a headache, but rather that a migraine attack has begun, and indigestion symptoms are accompanying it.”
I would like to clarify this common misconception from the perspective of the latest neuroscience and headache medicine.
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🧠 1. Indigestion is not the cause, but rather a ‘consequence of migraine’
One of the most important concepts currently emphasized in headache medicine is the ‘Brain-Gut Axis.’ The brain and gastrointestinal tract are connected by neural networks very intimately.
Migraine is not simply a condition caused by the constriction or dilation of blood vessels in the head. It is a kind of ‘thunderstorm in the brain’—a state in which the entire brain’s nervous system becomes heightened.
When a migraine attack begins and the trigeminal nerve becomes excited, the ‘vomiting center (Area Postrema)’ located in the brainstem is also stimulated. This causes severe nausea and vomiting.
More importantly, recent findings show that during a migraine attack, a phenomenon called ‘gastric stasis’ occurs. In other words, due to signals coming from the brain, the movement of the stomach temporarily stops completely. Since the stomach does not move, food does not pass through and there is a sensation of blockage. The patient perceives this as “indigestion.”
💊 2. Why over-the-counter medications and general painkillers don’t work
“At first, when I took something like Tylenol, it worked, but later I keep vomiting and experiencing pain even after taking medication.”
This is also due to gastric stasis. Since the stomach is not moving, ordinary painkillers or digestive aids taken orally cannot be absorbed into the intestines and remain in the stomach. The medication is ineffective. Moreover, since the problem is not with the stomach itself, taking gastroenterology medications does not provide a fundamental solution.
At this stage, you need to be prescribed migraine-specific medications (such as triptan-class drugs) that bypass the paralyzed gastrointestinal system and directly block the migraine pathway in the brain. Recently, innovative new drugs that directly block pain-inducing substances (CGRP) secreted from the trigeminal nerve have been developed and are being actively used in clinical practice.
🧬 3. Migraine is an ‘evolving’ neurological disorder of the brain
Due to the Chinese characters in the term ‘migraine,’ it is easy to misunderstand it as ‘pain on only one side of the head.’ However, in fact, many migraine patients experience headaches on both sides. It would be medically more accurate to call it ‘abdominal migraine’ or ‘sensory hypersensitivity headache.’
– Gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, sensation of indigestion)
– Sensitivity to light or sound (bright light and loud noises are bothersome)
– Worsening of pain with movement (throbbing when climbing stairs or bending over)
– Prodromal symptoms (seeing zigzag lines in front of the eyes or blurred vision)
If these symptoms appear together with a headache, it is clearly a migraine. Additionally, migraine is an evolving condition throughout one’s lifetime—it begins at puberty, changes during pregnancy and childbirth in the 20s and 30s, and becomes most severe with hormonal fluctuations around menopause in the late 40s.
🚨 4. The betrayal of headache medication: Be careful of medication overuse headache
Many people habitually take over-the-counter combination painkillers 10-15 days or more per month out of anxiety whenever they have indigestion. This damages the brain’s pain suppression system, leading to the worst vicious cycle called ‘medication overuse headache (MOH),’ in which pain occurs whether you take medication or not.
There are over 300 types of headaches, and there are dozens of specialized medications to manage migraines. Just because there are no visible injuries does not mean it is a minor condition. Headache is a serious neurological disorder that destroys a patient’s daily life and quality of life.
“Do you have a headache because of indigestion?”
Now, instead of taking digestive medication, please visit a neurologist or headache specialist and treat migraine, which is the ‘true cause.’ When your brain becomes calm, your paralyzed stomach will also begin to move comfortably again.